Pattern-matching m echanisiv



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

A; OLAPPE RTON, I PATTERN MATCHING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

No. 581,336. Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

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' (No Model.) T 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. A. OLAPPERTON.

PATTERN MATCHING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

No. 581,336. Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

I I]! IHHI Hlllll NITED STATES ALEXANDER CLAPPERTON, OF YONKERS, NElVYORK.

PATTERN-MATCHING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581 ,336, dated April27, 1897. Application filed September 18, 1896. Serial No. 606,197. Nomodel.)

T0 whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER CLAPPER- TON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Yonkers, county of NVestchester, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPattern-Matching Mechanism for Looms, fully described and represented inthe following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming apart of the same.

In the manufacture of fabrics consisting of a body formed by ground orbody warp and Weft threads and a pattern-surface formed by pattern-warpthreads, such as pile fabrics of the various classes, a seriousdifficulty arises from the fact that the pattern-warp is liable to rununevenly relatively to the ground or body warp, so that the successiveblocks of the pattern formed by the pattern-warp are long or short,while it is necessary that the successive pattern-blocks should be ofthe same length and register accurately with successive portions of thewarp-strands, so as to secure the uniform appearance of a single breadthof the fabric and the matching of the pattern in successive breadthswhen placed side by side. Heretofore this difficulty has been overcomeonly by constant watchfulness on the part of the operative and frequenthand adjustment of some part of the loom to secure the proper action.

The object of the present invention is to provide means by which theproper uniform length of the pattern-blocks and their accurate registrywith different portions of the body of the fabric shall be secured andany irregularity therein automatically corrected by the action of theloom. I secure this result by combining with the loom a pattern matchingmechanism controlled by the pattern-warp, so as to shorten or lengthenthe pattern-blocks in case the pattern runs long or short, and thuscorrect any irregularity in the pattern registry, and in the preferredform this matching mechanism acts by adjusting the tension of thepattern-warps in accordance with the irregularity to be corrected, thetension being increased if the pattern runs too short and decreased ifit runs too long, and the mechanism is controlled by the movement of thepattern-warps. This result may be secured by constructions of manydifferent forms, but I preferably employ a weight acting uponatension-bar and adjustable to vary the tension of the patternwarps andcontrol the adjustment of this weight by the movement of thepattern-warp through a roll over which the pattern-Warp runs and whichis thus rotated at a speed which varies with the movement of thepattern-warp.

The invention therefore consists, broadly, in the combination, with aloom, of a patternmatching mechanism controlled by the pattern-warp andin various constructions and combinations of parts in a loom embodyingsaid invention, all of which will be fully described hereinafter andspecifically pointed out in the claims.

For a full understanding of the invention a detailed description of aconstruction embodying all the features of the invention in theirpreferred form as applied to a pile-fabric loom of a well-known classwill now be given in connection with the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sideelevation of the loom inside the frame. Fig. 2 is a verticalcross-section of one side of the loom on a larger scale, looking to theright from line 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail enlarged view similar toFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation looking to the right from theline 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is 'a detail plan view of a portion of thematching mechanism. Fig. 6 is a detail section looking to the right fromthe line 6 of Fig. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a cam, hereinafterdescribed.

The loom to which my pattern-matching mechanism is shown as applied issubstantially the same as the Bigelow looms now well known and' incommon use in weaving tapestry carpets, so that a full'illustration anddescription of this loom is unnecessary, it being understood that theconstruction and operation of the parts of the 100111, aside from mynovel mechanism, is or may be of any suitable form, and that thematching mechanism may be applied to many other looms of the same classor of other classes employing pile or similar pattern warps.

In the loom shown A are the warp-beams for the ground or body warp x, Bthe pilewarp beam for the pile or pattern warp g G the heddles, D thelay, E the breast-beam, over which the woven fabric passes to thedraw-off roll F and wind-up roll G, all these parts and their actuatingmechanisms being of any common or suitable construction and operated inany suitable manner, and the loops in thelpile-warp g, which form thepilesurt'ace, being formed by pile-wires 1, which are inserted andwithdrawn by any suitable pile-wire movement, all as will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art.

Referring now to the parts in which the present invention is embodied,the pile-warp 3 passes from the warp-roll B downward over a roll a,thence over a tension-bar b, and thence to the heddles G. The roll a inthe construction shown is the roll previously referred to as actuated bythe pile-warp and controlling the matching mechanism, and it isimportant, therefore, that the roll should be actuated by the pile-warpwithout slip, so that the speed of the roll will vary accurately withthat of the pile-warp. For this purpose the roll Ct is preferably facedwith rubber or similar material or otherwise suitably formed, so as tosecure the accurate movement of the roll with the pile-warp. Thetension-bar l) in the construction shown is a smooth-faced bar, but itmay bearoll, if desired. It will be understood that the position of theroll a, as shown, is not essential, and that this or a similar rollmaybe placed in any other position and mounted in any suitable manner tosecure its proper movement by the pile-warp. If a roll be used for thetension-bar, it is obvious that this roll may be used to control thematching mechanism.

The shaft of roll a carries at one side of the loom a pinion 10, whichmeshes with and drives a gear 11, formed 011 the edge of a disk 0,mounted on a stud 12 in a bracket 13, supported on the loom'frame, andthis disk 0 carries on its outer face two pins or projections 2, placeddiametrically opposite each other. Between the bracket 13 and the sideloom-frame is a U shaped frame (Z, carried by a bar 1st, mounted to movevertically in brackets on the loom-frame, which bar 14 carries at itslower end a bowl 15, which engages cam 16 on a shaft 17, extendinglongitudinally of the loom and having on its end a pinion 18, meshingwith an intermediate 19, which meshes with a gear 20, which has fixed toit a beveled gear 21, meshing with a beveled gear 22 on the shaft of thedraw-off roll F, so that the shaft 17 and cam 16 are driven from thedraw-off roll, this gearing being so timed that the cam 16. makes onerevolution to each pattern-block of the fabric, which may be varied inlength, but is usually about ten inches long. The cam 16 is formed so asto permit the frame d to drop quickly when the cam reaches the properposition and, therefore, has a sharply cut shoulder off which the bowl15 drops. v To permit this shoulder to pass the bowl 15 in running theloom backward, as is sometimes desirable, the cam is preferably formed,as shown, with the shoulder on a portion .9 of the cam, which is hingedto swing rearward and into the body of the cam as the shoulder isengaged by the bowl in the reverse movement of cam 10, and thus allowthe shoulder to pass the bowl 15. The portion .9 is held in normalposition and returned thereto when it has passed the bowl 15 on thisreverse movement by a spring 60, and the outward movement of the camportion 3 is limited by the engagement of a stop-surface (51 thereonwith the body of the cam.

The frame (I carries two horizontal shafts 24 25, mounted one above theother and so as to rotate and slide longitudinally in the frame (1. Uponthe upper shaft 2a are loosely mounted two sleeves e a, which sleevescarry inwardly-extending arms ff and outwardlyextending arms 9 g, bywhich the sleeves e 0 maybe rocked in opposite directions. Theinwardly-extending arms ff on the sleeves e c are cut away, as shown inFig. 5, so as to form a slot 3 between them, and these arms extendtoward the disk 0, so as to lie opposite the pins or projections 2,carried thereby. Outside the sleeves e e the shaft 21L carries disks hh, the upper surfaces of which disks are provided with ratchet-teeth andthe lower surfaces with gear-teeth adapted to engage the pinions i 'i onthe lower shaft 25, previously referred to, and the sleeves e e havearms 26, which carry, respectively, weighted pawls 7; 7a, pivoted toengage the ratchetteeth on the disks h h to rotate the latter inopposite directions, and these pawls are normally held out of engagementwith the disks h h by fingers 27 on the pawls engaging stops 28, carriedby the frame (Z. The inwardly extending arms f f on the sleeves e e arenormally drawn downward, so as to rock the sleeves e 6 into position tothrow the pawls 7.: 71: out of engagement with the ratchets on disks h hby springs 29, and the downward movement of these arms is limited by thestop 80, carried by the frame (Z and extendin g beneath both arms f fThe lower shaft 25 in the frame (I, which carries the pinions i i,engaged by the toothed lower surfaces of the disks 7t 7t on sleeves c e,is provided outside these piuions with disks Z Z of such size as toengage the disks h 7L as the shaft 25 is moved in opposite directions,and this shaft 25 is provided with a camgroove 4, entered by a .pin 5,fixed in the frame cl, so that by the rotation of the shaft 25 it ismoved longitudinally by the engagement of the cam-groove 4 with the pin5, and the shaft 2% thus moved with it in one or the other direction bythe engagement of one of the disks Z l with the corresponding disk 7L h.The shaft 25 carries at one end a toothed disk 8, which is engaged by aspring stop-pawl 9 to hold the shaft against accidental rotation. Thesame result may be secured by any suitable friction device.

The tension-bar b is carried by arms 31, pivotally mounted in brackets13, of which there is one at each side of theloom, so that thetension-bar b is held against rearward movement by the loop of thepile-warp y, and one of these arms '31 has fixed to it a horizontal arm32, upon which is mounted a weight 33, which slides upon the arm to varythe pressure thereon, and consequently the tension of the pile-warp. Tomove this weight longitudinally of the bar 32, and thus vary thetension, the weight has athreaded portion 34,

which engages a screw-shaft 35, mounted in a bearing 36 011 the arm 32,which shaft 35 carries two ratchet-disks m m, arranged to be engaged byweighted pawls n n, so as to rotate the shaft 35 in opposite directions,and having extensions 37 on the opposite sideof the pawl-pivots from thepawls, upon which extensions normally rest the weighted ends of levers 00', which are mounted on a stud 38 in the loom-frame, the other ends ofthese levers 0 0 extending,respectively,into the path of the arms g g onthe sleeves e 6' when actuated,as hereinafter described. This end of thelever 0 is formed or provided with a bent portion or hook 39, and theframe d carries a projection 40, which is adapted to engage this hook,so as to hold this arm of the lever depressed and the opposite weightedend of the lever raised in a certain position of the parts.

The pawls n 92. are normally held out of engagement with the ratchets bythe engagement of the weighted arms of lever 0 0 with the extensions 37,and these pawls n n are carried by a lever 41, moving concentricallywith the ratchet-disks and reciprocated by connecting-rod 42 and lever43, actuated by cam 44, which may be driven from the main driving-shaftin any suitable manner, this cam being arranged and driven so as tosecure'the desired movement of the pawls 'n 'n.

The operation is as follows: As the pilewarp y passes from the warp-beam13 over rubber-faced roll a itdrives the latter, and thus, through thepinion '10, drives the disk 0, carrying the pins 2, and by the cam 16 onshaft 17 the frame d is reciprocated vertically once to the formation ofeach patternblock of the fabric, so as to carry the inwardly-extendingarms ff of the sleeves e 6 across the path of one of the pins 2 as theframe drops. As long as the movement of the pile-warp is such that theproper registry of the pattern-warp and the formation of uniformpattern-blocks is secured the roll a and disk 0 are rotated by thepile-warp at such a speed that one of the pins 2 on the disk 0 isopposite the slot 3, formed between the arms ff when the frame d drops,so that these arms always pass the pin freely and no action of thematching mechanism is obtained. If, however, the pattern-warp runs outof register, so that a pattern-block is not of the proper length, thepile-warp y will be drawn oif the beam B slower or faster, according asthe pattern is long or short, and the roll a and disk cwill thus berotated slower or faster by the pile-warp, and one of the pins 2,instead of lying opposite the slot 3 between the arms f f when the framed is lowered, so as to allow the free passage of the arms past the pin,will lie in the path of one or the other of the arms ff, according asthe movement of the pile-warp is slow or fast, so as tooff the beam 13more slowly and the consequent slow movement of the roll CLWlll rotatethe disk 0 at such speed that the pin 2 will not have reached the slot 3when a downward movement of the frame d takes place. Consequently as theframe d drops the arm f on the sleeve 6, which is the right-hand armin'Figs. 3 and 5, will strike the pin 2 and be thrown up so as to rotatethe sleeve 6 and throw the arm g down. As this arm 9 is thrown down itwill strike the end of the weighted lever 0, which projects into itspath when thus lowered, and throw up the opposite weighted end of thislever o from the projection 37 on weighted pawl n and thus release thelatter and allow it to drop into engagement with the ratchet-disk m, andthe reciprocation of the lever 41 by the cam 44 through lever 43 andconnecting-rod 42 then actuates the ratchet-disk m so as to rotate theshaft 35 to the right in Fig. 4 and move the weight 33 on arm 32 to theleft in Fig. 3, which shortens the leverage of the weight 33 on arm 32on the tension-bar b and thus decreases the tension on the pile-warp, sothat the pile-warp is taken up to a greater extent in forming thepile-surface and the patternblocks correspondingly shortened.

If the pattern be short, so that the tension upon the pile-warp is to beincreased, the pile-warp y will be drawn off the beam B more rapidly,and the operation is the same except that the pin 2 on the disk 0 willhave been carried past the slot 3 by the faster movement of the roll aat the time the frame 61 moves downward, and the other arm, f, willstrike a pin 2 and, through the arm g, weighted lever o, pawl '11, andratchet-disk m, cause the rotation of the screw-shaft 35 in the oppositedirection or to the left in Fig. 4, so as to move the weight 33 on arm32 to the right in Fig. 3, and thus increase the leverage of the weightupon the tension-bar b and increase the tension of the pile-warp, sothat the pile-warp will not be taken up so much in forming the pile andthe pattern-blocks will thus be lengthened and registry again secured.

For the purpose of moving the shaft 2% iongitudinally in the frame (Z,so as to move the arms ff to the right or left and thus bring the slot 3into proper registry with the pin 2, after the matching mechanism hasbeen operated as above described, so as to correct any irregularity, andso that the matching mechanism will not be operated on the next downwardmovement of the frame (Z, the shaft 25 is moved longitudinally,s0 as toshift the shaft 2% and arms ff to one side or the other to bring theslot 3 over the next pin 2. This feature is important, although fairresults may be attained without it, as it secures a closer registry. Thedesirability of this feature results from the fact that the correctionof the registry, after the shifting of the weight sufficiently for thispurpose, is gradual and extends over several successive pattern-blocks,so that the movement of the roll a by the pilewarp y may not bring thepin 2 opposite the slot 3 in time for the next downward movement of theframe (1, so that the matching mechanism will be actuated again and theweight thus shifted and the tension diminished or increased too much forsecuring close registry.

As one or the other of the sleeves e e is 1'0 tated by the engagement ofone of the arms f f with a pin 2 the corresponding pawl 7r: or It,carried by the sleeve 6 or e, engages the ratchet portion of the disk hor it, and thus, through the toothed portion of the disk and pinion t'or i, rotates the shaft 25 in one or the other direction and, bytheengagement of the cam-groove 4 with the fixed pin 5, moves the shaft25 longitudinally to the right or left in Fig. 3, which, by theengagement of the disk Z or l with the disk h or it, moves similarly theshaft 24 so as to shift the sleeves e c and their armsf f sidewise tobring the slot 8 into registry with the pin 2 on the next downwardmovement of the frame d, if this move ment is sufficient for thatpurpose, which will be the case if the previous action of the matchingmechanism is sufficient to secure the proper registry of the pile-warp.

If the pattern is but slightly out of registry, a single action of thematching mechanism by the engagement of one of the arms f f with a pin2, on a single downward movement of the frame (I, will be sufiicient tocorrect the registry. If, however, the pattern is far out of registry,so that the slot 3 does not register with the pin 2 at the next downwardmovement of the frame (7, the action will be repeated and the lack ofregistry corrected partially on successive pattern-blocks until registryis secured. In the construction shown three successive actions of thematching mechanism are sufficient to correct any possible irregularity,but the construction may be varied as desired in this respect. As shown,the frame (1 makes one movement to each pattern-block and two movementsto each 1'0- tation of the disk 0, and the latter therefore rotates onceto each two pattern-blocks and carries two pins, but it will beunderstood that this is not essential, as the timing of the frame 61 anddisk 0 and the number of pins carried thereby may be varied and for0011- venience will depend somewhat upon the length of thepattern-blocks.

It is obvious that,in the construction shown, as the pins 2 on disk 0are moving toward the slot in passing arm fa pin 2 may pass the arm fwithout moving it sufficiently to cause i the desired movement of thematching mechanism if the registry be only slightly incorrect, so thatthe pin 2,when the frame (Z drops, has reached a point close to the slotedge of the arm f. As the pin 2 is moving away from the slot 3 as itpasses arm f this difficulty does not occur in the case of the latterarm. For the purpose of avoiding this diiiiculty in the case of arm fand securing the desired action of the matching mechanism, although theregistry be but slightly incorrect, so that the pin 2 would pass intoline with the slot 3 without the matching mechanism being operated asdesired, the hooked end 39 of the lever o and the projection 40 on theframe (Z are employed. As the arm g, thrown downward by the rocking ofthe sleeve 6 by the engagement of arm f with pin 2, throws the hookedend of the lever o downward 011 the descent of the frame (I the hook 39catches under the projection 40, so as to be held downward thereby, andthe weighted end of the lever o is thus held raised oif the pawl n untilthe frame (1 moves upward, so as to release the hook 39 and lever 0.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedetails of the construction illustrated, but that many modifications maybe made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from theinvention. I believe thatI am the first to provide a matching mechanismby which the proper matching or registry of the pattern in looms ofthose classes that employ pile or other pattern warps is secured, and Iintend to claim this invention broadly without limiting myself to thespecific mechanism shown for attaining that result.

hat I claim is 1. The combination with a loom, of a pattern-matchingmechanism, substantially as described.

The combination with a loom, of a pattern-matchin g mechanism having amember moved by the pattern-warp and means for controlling the matchingmechanism by the movement of said member, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a loom, of a pattern-matching mechanism having aroll rotated by the pattern-warp and means actuated by said roll forcontrolling the matching mechanism, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a loom, of means controlled by the pattern-warpfor varying the tension of the pattern-warp to correct the registry ofthe pattern, substantially as-described.

5. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp, amember moved by the pattern-warp, and means controlled by said memberfor adjusting the pressure on said bar to vary the tension of thepattern-Warp, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp, aroll over which the pattern-warp passes and which is rotated by thepattern-warp, and means controlled by said roll for adjusting thepressure on said bar to vary the tension of the patternwarp,substantially as described.

7. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp, aweight acting on said bar and adjustable to vary the tension of thepattern-warp, and means controlled by the pattern-warp for adjustingsaid weight, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp, aweight acting on said bar and adjustable to vary the tension of thepattern-warp, a member 'moved by the pattern-warp, and means controlledby said member for adjusting the weight, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp, aweight acting on said bar and adjustable to vary the tension of thepattern-warp, a screw for adjusting said weight, mechanism for rotatingsaid screw in opposite directions, a member moved by the pattern-warpand means for controlling said mechanism by said member,-substantiallyas described.

10. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp,a screw controlling the pressure on said bar, normallydisconnecteddriving mechanism for rotating said screw in opposite directions to varythe tension of the warp, and means controlled by the pattern-warp forconnecting said mechanism to rotate the screw in one direction or theother, substantially as described.

11. The combination with a-loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp,a Weight acting on said bar and adjustable to vary the tension of thepattern-warp, a screw for adjusting said weight, ratchet-and-pawlmechanism for rotating said screw in opposite directions, means forholding said pawls normally disengaged from the ratchets, and meanscontrolled by the pattern-Warp for engaging the pawls for the rotationof the screw in one or the other direction, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp,a weight acting on said bar and adjustable to vary the tension of thepattern-warp, a screw for adjusting said Weight, ratchet-and-pawlmechanism for rotating said screw in opposite directions, leversnormally holding the pawls disengaged from the ratchets, a movablemember actuated by the warp, and means controlled by the posidescribed.

13.. The combination with a loom, of a tension-bar for the pattern-warp,a weight acting on said bar and adjustable to vary the tension of thepattern-warp, a screw for adjusting said weight, normally-disconnecteddriving mechanism for rotating said screw in opposite directions, amovable frame carrying members, means controlled by said members forconnecting and disconnecting said mechanism, a roll rotated by thepattern-warp, and a disk carrying one or more pins or projections androtated by said roll, said members crossing the path of said pins on themovement of the frame and arranged to pass a pin on the movement of theframe when the speed of the disk is normal and to engage and be actuatedby a pin when the disk is slow or fast for the connection of the drivingmechanism, substantially as described.

14:. The combination with a loom, of a ten' sion-bar for thepattern-warp, a weight acting on said bar and adjustable to vary thetension of the pattern-warp a screw for adjusting said weight,normally-disconnected driving mechanism for rotating said screw inopposite directions, a movable frame carrying members, means controlledby said members for connectin g and disconnecting said mechanism, a rollrotated by the pattern-warp, and a disk carrying one or more pins orprojections and rotated by said roll, said members crossing the path ofsaid pins on the movement of the frame and arranged to pass a pin on themovement of the frame when the speed of the disk is normal and to engageand be actuated by a pin when the disk is slow or fast for theconnection of the driving. mechanism, and means for moving said membersin the plane of movement of the pin after one of the members has beenactuated and in the direction required to aid in securing the freepassage of the members past the pins on the next movement of the frame,substantially as described.

15. The combination with a loom, of a roll rotated by the pattern-warp,a member actuated by said roll, a movable frame carrying members oneorthe other of which is adapted to engage the member actuated by theroll on the movement of said frame past said member if the pattern isout of register, and means controlled by the members on said frame forincreasing or diminishing the tension of the pattern-warp to correct theregistry, substantially as described.

16. The combination with a loom, of a roll rotated by the pattern-warp,a member actuated by said roll a movable frame carrying members one orthe other of which is adapted to engage the member actuated by the rollon the movement of said frame past said member if the pattern is out ofregister, and means controlled by the members on said frame forincreasing or diminishing the tension of the pattern-warp to correct theregistry, means for moving the members carried by the frame in the planeof movement of the member actuated by the roll after one of the memberson the frame has been actuated and in the direction required to aid insecuring the free passage of the actuated member on the next movement ofthe frame, substantially as described.

17. The combination with the movable frame (7, carrying sleeves e, 6having arms f, f and g, g, of roll a rotated by the patternwarp, diskactuated by said roll and provided with one or more pins 2, and meansfor adjusting the tension of the pattern-warp controlled by arms g, g,substantially as described.

18. The combination with the longitudinally-movablo shaft 24, carryingloose sleeves e, 6 having armsf, f, and g, g, of longitudinally-movab1eshaft 25 having a cam-groove 4 engaging a fixed pin 5 to move the shaftlongitudinally when the shaft is rotated, connections between shaft 25and sleeves e, e and shaft 21-, whereby shaft 25 is rotated by saidsleeves and shaft 2% moved longitudt nally by shaft 25, of roll arotated by the pattern-warp, disk 0 actuated by said roll and providedwith one or more pins 2, and means for adjusting the tension of thepattern-warp controlled by arms g, g, substantially as de scribed.

19. The combination with the movable frame (1 carrying arms g, of roll arotated by the pattern-warp, disk 0 actuated by said roll and providedwith one or more pins 2, connections for actuating said arms 9, g by apin 2 on the movement of the frame if the pattern is out of registry,and means for holding arm 9 in position when actuated by a pin 2 tosecure the adjustment of the tension although the arm is released by thepin, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ALEXANDER GLAPPERTON.

Witnesses:

ALEX. SMITH (Doorman, ARTHUR LAND.

